Positioning and automatic adjusting device, and corresponding method, for one or more cleaning brushes in a fabric finishing machine, and finishing machine comprising said device

ABSTRACT

Positioning and adjusting device for at least a cleaning brush of a fabric finishing machine such as a teaseling machine, a fluffing machine or similar, which includes a plurality of rotating chocks having needles or pointed protuberances, where the cleaning brush has a plurality of fibers or filaments suitable to remove, during use, possible residues of fabric or other types of residue from the chocks, the device further including image acquisition means, disposed in proximity to the cleaning brush and suitable to acquire images of the zone of proximity and/or contact between the ends of the fibers and the ends of the needles in order to find the distance between the latter.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a positioning and automatic adjustingdevice for one or more cleaning brushes in a fabric finishing machine,such as a teaseling machine or a fluffing machine, and the correspondingpositioning and adjusting method. The present invention also concerns ateaseling machine or a fluffing machine of the rotary drum type,comprising said device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Teaseling machines are known, which comprise a plurality of teaselingcylinders disposed on the circumference of a rotary drum, which are inturn rotating around their axis and provided with respective chockssuitable for teaseling or fluffing a fabric, in order to confer on thelatter the desired aesthetic characteristics and feel. To carry out thedesired treatment, the fabric is made to pass with one face in contactwith the teaseling/fluffing cylinders and follow an arc of circumferenceof the drum of about 250° between the entrance drawing unit and the exitdrawing unit.

The chocks of the teaseling cylinders comprise a plurality of needles orpointed protuberances which, as the fabric passes over them, exert anaction of lifting the nap to confer the desired characteristics.

It is also known that, as the teaseling cycles proceed, the needles getprogressively dirty due to the residues of fabric that remain trappedtherein. For this reason, known teaseling machines usually comprise atleast one cleaning brush, normally disposed in the space between thedrawing units, which is selectively activated to remove the residues offabric from the chocks of the cylinders. The cleaning brush is usuallythe rotary type and comprises fibers, filaments or bristles, which canbe made of metal, for example steel, plastic materials such as nylon orsuchlike, or other. Brushes with metal fibers can also have the functionof sharpening and conditioning the chocks, that is, making the needlesof the chocks suitable for first use. Known teaseling machines alsocomprise a positioning system suitable to manually move the cleaningbrush closer to/away from the chocks, so as to selectively adjust thereciprocal position of the two. The positioning and adjustment occurs bytemporarily clamping the rotation of the drum and by measuring, normallymanually, the distance between the ends of the bristles of the brush andthe ends of the needles of the chocks of the cylinders, identifying theexact point where the positioning device puts the ends at a distance of0 mm between them. Afterward, to measure the degree of penetration ofthe brush into the chocks, a foil of harmonic steel, with a thickness ofabout 0.5 mm, is used, which is made to pass by an operator between thebrush and the needles. Depending on the degree of friction found on thesteel foil, that is, the resistance that the operator perceives while heis making the foil pass between the brush and needles, the degree ofpenetration of the brush into the chocks can be perceived.

A first disadvantage of this technique is that the adjustment occurs bymeans of a manual displacement of the mechanism for positioning thebrush, and therefore it is laborious, imprecise and requires specializedmanpower, and is substantially based on the experience and capacity ofthe operators.

Another disadvantage is that the adjustment requires a lot of time,limiting productivity due to the temporary stoppage of the teaselingmachine.

It should also be noted that, during the normal use of the teaselingmachine, the fibers of the cleaning brush get shorter due to wear, andthis entails continuous and repetitive adjustments of the positioningmechanism for the brushes. Furthermore, the adjustments must be carriedout every time the cleaning brushes or the chocks of the cylinders arereplaced.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One purpose of the present invention is to obtain a positioning andadjusting device for a cleaning brush in a teaseling machine or similarwhich makes the adjustment of the positioning of the cleaning brushautomatic, simplifying and accelerating the same.

Another purpose is to perfect a method for a cleaning brush in ateaseling machine or similar which simplifies, and renders automatic andquicker, the positioning and adjustment of the brush with respect to theteaseling/fluffing elements mounted on the drum.

The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention toovercome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain theseand other purposes and advantages.

In accordance with the above purposes, a positioning and adjustingdevice for at least one cleaning brush in a finishing machine forfabrics such as a teaseling or fluffing machine or suchlike comprises aplurality of rotating chocks having needles or pointed protuberances.The cleaning brush comprises a plurality of fibers or filaments, whichcan be made of metal, plastic, of vegetable or animal origin or other,and are suitable to remove, during use, possible residues of fabric orother types of residues from the chocks.

According to one feature of the present invention, the device comprisesmeans for the acquisition of images, which are disposed in proximity tothe at least one cleaning brush and are suitable to acquire images ofthe zone of proximity and/or contact between the ends of the fibers andthe ends of the needles in order to find the exact distance between thelatter. The image acquisition means are suitable to allow an operator,and/or other possible means, also partly automatic, to evaluate thedistance with great precision, remotely and in real time.

According to one form of embodiment of the present invention, the devicealso comprises control means, which are connected to the imageacquisition means and are suitable to receive and process the imagesacquired in order to find the distance, and movement means which arecommanded by the control means and are suitable to move the cleaningbrush toward the needles of the chocks so that the cleaning brush ispositioned, in use, in a position such that the fibers penetrate intothe chocks between the needles to a desired depth. The movement meansare advantageously the automatic type, and allow to move the brushprecisely, and without requiring the manual intervention of an operator.

According to another feature of the present invention, the movementmeans comprise at least an electric motor which cooperates with a wormscrew mechanism. The electric motor works on direct current and issuitable to cooperate with the worm screw mechanism in order to causedisplacements of the brush along a desired axis. The displacement alongthe axis is controlled by means of a linear potentiometer.

In some forms of embodiment, the image acquisition means comprise atleast a television camera or a webcam or a camera. Advantageously, theimage acquisition means are suitable to be interfaced with the controlmeans, and are suitable to provide images substantially in real time.

According to other forms of embodiment, the control means comprise anelectronic unit or a computer type processing unit which can be, forexample, an electronic calculator with a known architecture.Advantageously, the electronic calculator can also be suitable toperform other control functions on the teaseling or fluffing machine orsimilar.

According to another feature of the present invention, the control meansalso comprise a user interface with a touch screen display, which issuitable to display the images and to receive functioning settings froman operator. Advantageously, the user interface allows the user a quickand intuitive interaction, which can also be remote, or in a placedistant from the teaseling or fluffing machine or suchlike.

The present invention also comprises a teaseling or fluffing machine orsuchlike, which comprises a positioning and adjusting device asdescribed above.

The present invention also comprises a method for the positioning andadjustment of at least one cleaning brush of a teaseling or fluffingmachine or suchlike, which comprises a plurality of chocks havingneedles or pointed protuberances. The method comprises at least acleaning step in which the cleaning brush, which has a plurality offibers or filaments, removes possible residues of fabric or other typesof residues from the chocks.

According to one feature of the present invention, the method alsocomprises an acquisition step in which image acquisition means, whichare disposed in proximity to the at least one cleaning brush, acquireimages of a zone of contact between the ends of the fibers and the endsof the needles in order to find the exact distance between the latter.Advantageously, the acquisition of the images occurs substantially inreal time.

According to another feature of the present invention, the method alsocomprises a control step in which control means, which are connected tothe acquisition means, receive and process the images in order todetermine the distance, and a positioning step in which movement meanscommanded by the control means move the cleaning brush automaticallytoward the needles of the chocks, and position the cleaning brush sothat the fibers penetrate into the chocks between the needles to adesired depth. The two steps are advantageously repeated cyclically tocompensate the wear on the fibers of the brush and/or the chocks.

According to one form of embodiment of the present invention, thecontrol step comprises a first sub-step in which an operator, acting ona display-type user interface of the control means, positions two levellines in substantial correspondence to the ends of the fibers and theends of the needles respectively, and a second sub-step in which thecontrol means, according to the position of the level lines,automatically calculate the exact distance between the ends of thefibers and the ends of the needles.

According to a variant of the present invention, the control stepcomprises a first sub-step in which the control means automaticallyanalyze the image and position two level lines in substantialcorrespondence to the ends of the fibers and the ends of the needlesrespectively, and a second sub-step in which the control means,according to the positioning of the level lines, automatically calculatethe exact distance between the ends of the fibers and the ends of theneedles. Advantageously, according to this variant, the method for thepositioning and adjustment of the cleaning brush is carried outcompletely automatically, that is, without the need for any interventionby an operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of a preferential form ofembodiment, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to theattached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic and partial section of a teaseling machinecomprising a positioning and automatic adjusting device for a cleaningbrush according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 a is an enlarged detail of the teaseling machine in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 b is a schematic and partial section of a variant form ofembodiment of the teaseling machine in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an image acquired by the device according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 shows an image of a graphical interface of the device accordingto the present invention.

To facilitate comprehension, the same reference numbers have been used,where possible, to identify identical common elements in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, a positioning and automatic adjusting device10 according to the present invention is suitable to be used on ateaseling machine 11, of the type with a rotary drum 13, which comprisesa plurality of teaseling cylinders 19, also rotating and mounted on thecircumference of the drum 13. Each of the teaseling cylinders 19 issuitable to be made to rotate in the direction of a first arrow F1(FIG. 1) around a respective first axis of rotation X1 by one or moredrive means cooperating with one or more motion transmission mechanisms,not shown in the drawings. Furthermore, the drum 13 is suitable to bemade to rotate around a second axis of rotation X2 in the direction of asecond arrow F2. In the schematic representation in FIG. 1, each of thecylinders 19 rotates in a clock-wise direction, while the drum 13rotates in an anti-clock-wise direction.

A chock 23 is disposed on the whole external surface of each of theteaseling cylinders 19 and comprises a plurality of needles 25, orpointed protuberances, which are suitable to teasel a fabric 29. Thelatter is made to pass with one face in contact with the drum 13 so thatit follows a predetermined arc thereof, for example 250°. The fabric 29,traveling in the direction indicated by the arrows F3, is made toadvance by a first drawing unit 31, which is disposed upstream of thedrum 13, and by a second drawing unit 33 which is disposed downstream ofthe drum 13. The drawing units 31 and 33 are suitable to rotaterespectively around third axes of rotation X3 by means of suitabledriven means. The fabric 29, traveling in contact with the lateralsurface of the drum 13 in the opposite direction, or concordant, to thedirection of rotation of the teaseling cylinders 19, and in the oppositedirection, or concordant, to the rotation of the drum 13, is subjectedto lifting of the nap as is known in teaseling processes.

Although the following description will refer mainly to teaseling, itmay equally be applied to fluffing machines or finishing machines ofother types which have similar problems of period cleaning of thecylinders like teaseling machines. Therefore, when we speak of “chocks”and “needles”, we also intend not only the common meaning which refersto teaseling machines, but also linings or coverings of different types,for example those applied to fluffing machines or other similar orcomparable machines for finishing fabrics.

As is known, fibrous textile residues remain between the needles 25,therefore dirtying the chocks 23. To limit the consequent loss ofefficiency of the latter, the teaseling machine 11 comprises at leastone cleaning brush 37 of the rotary type, with a substantially circularsection, suitable to remove the residual textile fibers on the chocks23. The cleaning brush 37 is in this case disposed in the lower part ofthe teaseling machine 11, substantially between the first drawing unit31 and the second drawing unit 33 and comprises a plurality of fibers 39which in this case are composed of metal, but which can also be made ofplastic material, or materials of vegetable or animal origin or other.The cleaning brush 37 is suitable to be made to rotate in a directionindicated by a fourth arrow F4 around a fourth axis of rotation X4 by amotor M, and is disposed on support means 43. The latter are movablevertically by movement means 45, which for example can comprise a wormscrew mechanism, to move closer to/ away from the drum 13 and henceto/from the teaseling cylinders 19.

The movement means 45, which advantageously comprise an electric motor,are suitable to move selectively and in a controlled manner the cleaningbrush 37 in the direction of the teaseling cylinders 19, so that thefibers 39 enter into contact with the needles 25 of the chocks 23 inorder to remove the textile residues therefrom, thanks to the twocombined movements of rotation.

The device 10 according to the present invention also comprises controlmeans 49 associated with the movement means 45. In some forms ofembodiment, the control means 49 comprise an electronic unit and/or acomputer-type processing unit, such as for example an electroniccalculator, and electronic adjustment means, in turn comprising a linearpotentiometer.

Furthermore, the device 10 comprises image acquisition means 51 (FIGS. 1and 2 a), which are communicating with the control means 49. The imageacquisition means 51 are disposed in proximity with the cleaning brush37 and are suitable to acquire images (FIG. 3) of the zone of contactbetween the ends of the fibers 39 of the brush 37 and the ends of theneedles 25 of the chocks 23. The image acquisition means (51) maycomprise for example one or more television cameras, webcams, cameras orother. The images acquired are transmitted to the control means 49 to beprocessed, in particular to evaluate the possible distance D1 (FIG. 2a), measured along the axis Y, between the ends of the fibers 39 and theends of the needles 25. The control means 49 also comprise, or areassociated with, at least a user interface 53 which can be, for example,a display, which allows the operator to display in real time the imagestaken by the image acquisition means 51.

A variant form of embodiment shown in FIG. 2 b, compared with thedescription above, comprises two cleaning brushes 37 which are disposedadjacent so as to operate respectively and simultaneously on twodifferent chocks 23.

The device 10 in this case comprises two image acquisition means 51,which are disposed respectively near the two zones of contact betweenthe respective cleaning brushes 37 and the chocks 23 of the teaselingcylinders 19. In this case, the two image acquisition means 51 arecommunicating with the control means 49, to evaluate the respectivedistances D2 and D3 between the two cleaning brushes 37 and the chocks23 along the respective longitudinal axes Y2 and Y3. The control means49 are in turn communicating with movement means, not shown in FIG. 2 b,which are suitable to selectively cause the displacement of the brushes37 respectively along the axes Y2 and Y3, in order to move the brushes37 nearer to/away from the chocks 23.

The device 10 according to the present invention functions as follows.

The continuous use of the cleaning brushes 37 causes a progressiveconsumption of the fibers 39 with a consequent shortening thereofBecause of this, it is necessary to adjust at regular time intervals thedistances D1, D2, D3 between the cleaning brushes 37 and the chocks 23.The replacement of the cleaning brushes 37 or the fibers 39 of thecleaning brushes 37 also requires a new adjustment of this distance.

According to the present invention, to adjust the exact distance betweenthe ends of the needles 25 and the ends of the fibers 39 of the cleaningbrushes 37, first of all the rotation of the drum 13 is blocked,advantageously by an automatic procedure, so that one cylinder 19 isaligned on the axis of movement Y, Y2, Y3 of the cleaning brush 37.Afterward, by commanding the positioning means 45, the brush 37 ispositioned at a certain distance from the chocks 23 so that the distancecan be displayed by the acquisition means 51. The image (FIG. 3)acquired by the latter is then transmitted to the control means 49 whichin this case comprise a display type user interface 53, for example atouch screen. An operator, acting on the latter, positions two levellines 55 in substantial correspondence with the average height of theends of the fibers 39 and needles 25.

On the basis of the two level lines 55, the control means 49 calculateprecisely the exact distance D1, D2, D3 between the fibers 39 and theneedles 25. Afterward, on the basis of the distance D1, D2, D3, thecleaning brush 37 is selectively positioned so that, during use, itpenetrates inside the chocks 23 with a desired and predetermined depthto effectively remove the textile residues between the needles 25.

According to a variant form of embodiment, the control means 49 areadvantageously suitable to process the images acquired by theacquisition means 51, automatically determining, without the aid of anoperator, said distance D1, D2, D3.

The positioning and automatic adjusting device 10 according to thepresent invention has the following advantages:

-   -   it identifies the contact position (FIG. 1) of the cleaning        brush 37 with the needles 25 of the chocks 23 of the teaseling        cylinders 19;    -   it automatically compensates, by means of the repeated        identification of the contact position, the wear on the cleaning        brush 37 and/or the chocks 23 of the teaseling cylinders 19;    -   it positions and automatically adjusts the cleaning brush 37,        irrespective of the size of the latter and/or the sizes of the        chocks 23;    -   it automatically manages the depth of the penetration of the        cleaning brush 37 into the chocks 23.

It is clear that modifications and/or additions of parts may be made tothe positioning and automatic adjusting device 10 as describedheretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the presentinvention.

It is also clear that, although the present invention has been describedwith reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the artshall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms ofpositioning and automatic adjusting device, having the characteristicsas set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field ofprotection defined thereby.

1. Positioning and adjusting device for a cleaning brush of a fabricfinishing machine such as a teaseling machine, a fluffing machine orsimilar, comprising; a plurality of rotating chocks having needles orpointed protuberances, said at least one cleaning brush comprising aplurality of fibers or filaments suitable to remove, during use,possible residues of fabric or other types of residue from said chocks,image acquisition means, disposed in proximity to said at least onecleaning brush and suitable to acquire images of the zone of proximityand/or contact between the ends of said fibers and the ends of saidneedles in order to find a distance between the latter; control means,connected to said image acquisition means and which are suitable toreceive and process said images in order to find said distance, andmovement means commanded by said control means and suitable to move saidcleaning brush toward said chocks so that said cleaning brush ispositioned, in use, in a position such that said fibers penetrate intosaid chocks to a desired depth.
 2. Device as in claim 1, wherein saidmovement means comprise at least an electric motor which cooperates witha worm screw mechanism.
 3. Device as in claim 1, wherein said imageacquisition means comprise at least a television camera or a webcam or acamera.
 4. Device as in claim 1, wherein said control means compriseelectronic adjustment means, an electronic unit or a computer typeprocessing unit.
 5. Device as in claim 4, wherein said control meansalso comprise a user interface with a touch screen display, which issuitable to receive functioning settings from an operator.
 6. Teaselingmachine, comprising a positioning and adjusting device as in claim
 1. 7.Method for positioning and adjusting at least a cleaning brush of afabric finishing machine such as a teaseling machine, a fluffing machineor similar, comprising a plurality of rotating chocks having needles orpointed protuberances, the method comprising a cleaning step in whichsaid cleaning brush having a plurality of fibers or filaments removespossible residues of fabric or other types of residue from said chocks,an acquisition step in which image acquisition means, disposed inproximity to said at least one cleaning brush, acquire images of a zoneof contact between the ends of said fibers and the ends of said needlesin order to find a distance between the latter, a control step in whichcontrol means, connected to said acquisition means, receive and processsaid images in order to determine said distance and, a positioning stepin which movement means commanded by said control means move saidcleaning brush automatically toward said needles of said chocks, andposition said cleaning brush so that said fibers penetrate into saidchocks between said needles to a desired depth.
 8. Method as in claim 7,wherein said control step comprises a first sub-step in which anoperator, acting on a display-type user interface of said control means,positions two level lines in substantial correspondence to the ends ofsaid fibers and the ends of said needles respectively, and a secondsub-step in which said control means, according to the positioning ofsaid level lines, automatically calculate the exact distance between theends of said fibers and the ends of said needles.
 9. Method as in claim7, wherein said control step comprises a first sub-step in which saidcontrol means automatically analyze said image and position two levellines in substantial correspondence to the ends of said fibers and theends of said needles respectively, and a second sub-step in which saidcontrol means, according to the positioning of said level lines,automatically calculate the exact distance between the ends of saidfibers and the ends of said needles.